Satisfaction Scam

Who the heck are we? what is our business here?If you asked me this question one year ago, I'd probably say I am a young white American male and my business is to be happy. Not a bad answer, right? After all, this is a description of what I see and feel, I mean what other reason is there for business than to be happy? So why bring this up, like what do you think is the point of this article? Well, how satisfied are you with your answers to the first two questions? How successful have you been in conducting your business? For me personally, my happiness was very much dependent on the current environment and circumstances. And I don't know if that is an accurate way I would choose to describe myself. I may be young now, but I'll be old in not too long, so does that really describe me? If it is me who is old and me who is young, does that really help in describing who I am? And then white American. I don't really identify too much with that either; I have always loved the cultures of Ancient Africa and the Far East more. This culture run by big money and advertising companies actually kind of disturbs me. So which culture is more "me"? Which culture has more influence over my personality and conscious experience?

     Male. Now gender labeling has been a topic too hot to handle in modern society, so let's ask a question: what makes one person a male and another one a female? Anatomy of course is different. Also, hormones, thought processing, emotional stimulants, etc. can all be used to describe the difference in experience. As gender lines are blurring, and personality traits becoming more androgynous, to describe oneself as "male" is not so clarifying these days. One can be a male dancer, or fashion designer, or even stay-at-home dads are on the rise. Just reflecting up to this point, I find it interesting that we came to the point of offering different occupations to describe an unusual male. This is a very important point because the kind of work one is inclined to do very much tells something about who that person is.

     In the Vedic culture of Ancient India, this system is called varnasrama-dharma. The distorted reflection of this is the modern day caste system which restricts people to a certain way of life based solely on the family of their birth. In ancient times it was the other way around. In the varnasrama system, each individual is allowed full expression of their natural qualities and gets trained up in a specific occupation that they are inclined to do. This is usually determined by a trusted guru, or wise elder, who takes care of the children of the community for nearly two decades. In this way, the varnasrama system works to organize society so that every person can make steady spiritual advancement and ultimately come to the stage of full self-realization. Unfortunately, as industry and money has taken over our minds, this precious goal of life has been lost and so to has the perfect means for achieving it.

     In the Vedic society, everyone was simply to perform their prescribed duties with mind blissfully absorbed in thoughts of the Supreme, and so, all were satisfied and everyone's needs were taken care of by this community of cooperation. It is interesting to note that in this varnasrama system, only one social-strata was concerned with money. These people known as vaisyas, were in charge of farming, cow protection, and mechantile work. They provided the necessary subsistence for the rest of society in the forms of voluntary taxes, charity, and wages. Nowadays, 90% of the world's wealth is held within 10% of the world's population, and, if all the world's wealth were evenly distributed, then every adult human in the entire world would have about $51,000 dollars US (waitbutwhy.com). That's more than enough to live on, especially if food was also equally distributed through society like in Vedic times.

     So why don't we implement this varnasrama system now? The exploitative greed that is plaguing the Earth and the minds of those on it is due very simply to a lack of self-satisfaction. This varnasrama system is simply a social framework to conduct a cooperative community. Simply implementing this system into the modern day culture would be like treating the symptoms without curing the disease. We are each plagued with this disease of a lack of self-satisfaction and its fueling all the frustration and friction we experience from an individual level to a global level. We all want to be happy but we don't know how to be happy, we were never taught. Serve the Supreme. The varnasrama system in Ancient times worked smoothly for thousands of years because the people were focused on rendering some work for the pleasure of the Lord. This is the cause of satisfaction.  Whatever we do, whatever we give away, whatever we make or construct, do it to give pleasure to the Lord. 

    The simplest and most effective way to give pleasures to the Lord, thus reclaiming our original natural identity, is to recite the holy names of the Lord. By keeping His Holy Names always on the tongue, one's dormant spiritual consciousness is reawakened and all of one's distress and anxiety is completely destroyed. The Supreme Person can be referred to by many names, all of which contain the supreme absolute truth. Our true self-identity is revealed within the heart when the covering of false identity is removed by the transcendental sound vibration of the Holy Names of the Lord.

    Please recite whatever name of the Supreme you are familiar with and if you aren't familiar with this process then easily you can take to chanting the maha-mantra: 

"Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare" 

...and all good fortune will come upon you.

     In this way, even the smallest endeavors we make will bring the greatest satisfaction because our consciousness is in a blissful exchange with the Supreme. By keeping our focus on Him, there will be no duality, no doubting in ourselves. No envy because we will be experiencing the highest bliss, and full cooperation will burst from the core of our hearts with a deep understanding and love for our brothers and sisters. Hare Krishna.